Revolving target



NOV. 25, 1958 C Q MUSSER REvoLvING TARGET Filed Jan. 12, 195s IN V EN TOR.

,j 2,861,808 ICC Patented Nov. z5, 195s REVOLVIN G TARGET Clair Omar Mussel', Studio City, Calif., assignor. to Knickerbocker Plastic Co. Inc., North Hollywood, Calif., a corporation of California Application January 12, 1956, Serial No. 558,693

2 Claims. (Cl. 273-102.1)

This invention relates to a new and improved revolving target.

As virtually every carnival goer can testify, all manner of revolving and moving targets have been manufactured and sold in the past. In spite of such activity with respect to this subject matter, there is a need for toy targets which are capable of elfectively stimulating the interest of those utilizing these targets. An object of the present invention is to provide revolving targets capable of easily stimulating the interest of the users of these targets.

With the instant invention, the interest of a target user is stimulated by means of forming the target in the general shape of a face or the like, and utilizing revolving means which are actuated when the target is struck with an object, such as, e. g., a cork from a common toy gun so as to change the expression upon the face. Hence, it may be stated that another object of the invention is to provide a revolving target utilizing as part of the target a face or other characterization upon a lixed member and utilizing another member which is actuated when the target is struck so as to change the expression or appearance of this face or characterization.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toy target utilizing a revolving member in conjunction with latch, ratchet, and spring means as hereinafter described so that when this revolving member is struck by an object it is caused to rotate a restricted amount placing a new area in a position so this area may be struck by another object so as to cause the revolving member to be rotated a further amount.

Still further objects of this invention, as well as many specific advantages of it, will be apparent from the remainder of this description and the appended claims in which:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a revolving target of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken at line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial cross sectional view taken at line 3*--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial cross sectional view taken at line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a partial cross sectional view taken at line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a revolving member employed with the toy target illustrated in the preceding figures. t

in all figures of the drawing like numerals are used to designate like parts wherever convenient for purposes of illustration and explanation. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to constructions formed precisely as indicated herein inasmuch as the dimensions of revolving toy targets as herein described may be altered widely and inasmuch as various equivalent means may be substituted for certain of the structures shown without departing from the essential nature of the present concept.

lThis invention is considered to be fully summarized or defined in detail by the appended claims forming a part of this disclosure. In order to understand the invention it may be stated by way of a summary that it involves revolving targets, each of which includes or comprises: a housing having a front side; means defining at least one opening within said front side of the housing; a rotatable member positioned within the housing immediately behind said opening; means tending to rotate said rotatable member in a given direction; and latch means serving to normally prevent rotation of said movable member in said direction, said latch means being capable of being actuated when said movable member is struck by an object passing through said opening so as to per-V mit limited rotation of said movable member.

In Fig. l of the drawings there is shown arevolving target 10 of the present invention which includes a housing 12 having a front side 14, and an open back 16. Within the front 14 of this housing there is formed an enlarged opening 18, a first pair of openings 20 and a second pair of openings 22. As is apparent. from Fig. l of the drawings, these openings 18, 20, and 22 are so located upon the front of the housing so as to correspond in location to a mouth, eyes and eyebrows respectively, upon an enlarged face 24 painted or otherwise disposed upon this front 14.

Within the housing there are located two cross braces 26 and 28 which are formed to include aligned openings 30 and 32 in such a manner that a shaft 34 can be located so as project through these two openings from the general vicinity of the front 14 of the housing out through the back 16 thereof. Upon the extremity of this shaft 34 projecting from the back 16 there is disposed a small handle 36 in the form of a wing nut so that `as this handle 36 is turned the shaft 34 is also rotated causing a coil spring 38 to be tightened. The coil spring 38 is disposed about the shaft 34 between the cross braces 26 and 28 with one end of the spring secured to the cross brace 28 and with the other end of the spring secured to a member 40 positioned on the shaft 34 so as to rotate therewith.

The end of the shaft 34 immediaely adjacent to the front 14 of the housing 12 is attached to a bar 42 which, if desired, may be called a catch in that this bar is designed so as to engage any of a series of projections 44 formed on the edge of a ratchet disc 46 as is best seen from an examination of Figs. 3 and 6 of the drawing. Each of these projections 44 includes a sloping wall 48 so that as the shaft 34 is turned the bar 42 will slide up upon two aligned sloping walls 48 and then will drop down so as to be engaged by ends 49 of two projections 44. In order for the bar 42 to satisfactorily perform this function it must be formed out of a comparatively resilient material such as steel or the like. l

It is considered obvious from the aforegoing that the ratchet disc 46 is disposed about the shaft 34 so as to be centered with respect to this shaft. This ratchet disc is located within a central opening 50 in a disc 52, which may, if desired, be termed a revolving member. Further, the` ratchet disc 46 is directly secured to the disc 52 by means of small rivets 54 althoughother equivalent means can be employed.

Upon the periphery of the disc 52 there are located a series of projections 56, one of which at a time is designed to be held against a fixed stop 58 having an open end 59, by the tension of the spring 38. This fixed stop projects from the front 14 of the housing 12 a limited amount so that as an object such as a cork from a toy gun or the like is propelled through the opening 18 against the disc 52, the projection 56 held against .the fixed stop 58 is moved towards the back 16 ofthe housing 12 against a guide 60 which is sloped towards the direction of norto tend to start the disc 52 to rotate in thisV direction as a projection 56 hits it. If an object such as referred to above only hits the disc 52 with a limited amount of force, it is considered obvious that the spring 38 may cause rotation of the disc before a projection 56 hits the guide 60. It is necessary for this construction to be operative that the disc 52 be either formed of a material which is somewhat flexible or which is mounted in a flexible manner about the shaft 34. With the preferred construction of the instant invention the opening within the disc 52 about the shaft is of larger dimension than the shaft 34 so as to permit a certain amount of give to the disc 52 during the operation of the target 1t). The disc 52 is also with the invention of somewhat iiexible' material such as cardboard reinforced with cross bars 6,2 of metal upon which the projections 56 are formed.

Before the target is used it is necessary to tighten the spring 38 by twisting the handle 36. Rotation of the disc 52 in an undesired direction is prevented during this operation by a small rotatable stop 64 located upon the housing 12 adjacent to the fixed stop 58 and the guide 60. This stop is preferably pivotally mounted so that extensions 66 on it project into openings 68 in a single piece of metal from which the fixed stop 58 and the guide 60 are formed. As the disc 52 is caused to rotate through the use of the target 16 as previously described, projections moving towards the fixed stop 58 pass over the rotatable stop 64 fiipping this rotatable stop to the position indicated in dotted lines of Fig. 5. After a projecton has passed over this rotatable stop the end of it remote from the fixed stop 53 because of its weight causes the rotatable stop 64 to return to its initial position where itserves to aid in positioning projection 56` In case the disc 52 for some reason rotates in otherthan a desired plane perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 34, another guide 70 is provided as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings so as to cause a projection 56 being moved against the fixed stop S8 to rotate against this fixed stop. This guide 70 is conveniently formed integrally with the fixed stop 58 and the guide 6) out of a piece of metal as referred to above.

As the handle 36 is turned, the bar 42 is moved with respect to the ratchet wheel 44, while the spring 33 is being wound up. It is considered obvious that the tension of the spring 38 will then normally tend to turn the disk S2 towards the fixed stop 58. The target lll is then ready for use. During use, a cork or other projectile is caused to pass through the opening 18, hitting against the disk 52 in the manner previously described so as to disengage one of the projections 56 from the fixed stop 81 As this occurs, the disk 52 rotates so that the next adjacent projection 56 latches in place upon the fixed stop. lf desired', the fixed stop may be termed latch means be cause of this function.

It will be noted from the examination of Fig. 6 of the drawings that the disc 52 is provided with a number of different portions 72 which are printed or otherwise formed so as to conform to various different mouths which may be viewed as a composite part of the face 24. This disk 52 is also provided with a number of pairs of different portions 74 corresponding to eyes forming a part of this face, and with another set of portions 76 corresponding to eyebrows of the face 24. These various portions are also printed or otherwise formed so as to correspond in appearance to the members they represent. Further, they are spaced periodically about the disc52 so that a new mouth, a new set of eyes and a new set of eyebrows are brought into position behind the openings 18, 20 andv 22, respectively, when an object is propelled through the opening lsagainst the disc 52. It is obviously possible to dispense with one or more of these various openings, and the corresponding'portions on the disc portions containing indicia as referred to above on the 4. disc 52 as described, in order to heighten or enlarge the catching effect of the target 10 in catching and holding the attention of an individual.

Instead of the precise ratchet means used in conjunction with the shaft 34, it is possible to substitute within the toy target 10 other known ratchet means although the construction shown is preferred because it is comparatively easy to manufacture and assemble and is virtually fool-proof in operation. Other similar substitutions may be made in the present invention without departing from the essential nature of it. As an example of this, other latch means besides the type of fixed stop arrangement shown may be employed, although here again the precise structure shown is preferred because of simplicity, ease of construction, and reliability of operation. Because a number of such substitutions or modifications can be made, this invention is to be afforded comparatively wide latitude, and is to be considered as being limited only by the appended claims forming a part of this disclosure.

I claim:

l. A revolving target which comprises: a housing having a front side provided with indicia of a face; means defining a first opening corresponding to part of said face in said front side of said housing; means defining a plurality of other openings corresponding to other parts of said face in the front side of said housing; a shaft mounted in said housing and extending perpendicularly with respect to said front wall of said housing at a location such that its axis intersects said face at a point located within the outline formed by said openings; a disc disposed behind said front side of said housing and having an enlarged aperture therein of greater diameter than said shaft disposed in surrounding relationship with respect to said shaft, said disc including portions adapted to be located behind said openings in said front side of said housing and having indicia of said face located thereon; spring means connected to said disc tending to rotate said disc about the axis of said shaft; a plurality of projections on the periphery of said disc; and a stationary abutment in said housing located in the path of movement of said projections adjacent said first opening and terminating a short distance behind said path so that a projection may be freed from contact with said abutment by rearward movement of such projection in response to the impact of a projectile passing through said first opening whereby the expression on said face will be changed each time a projectile is passed through said first opening.

2. A revolving target which comprises: a housing having a front side provided with indicia of a face; means defining a first opening corresponding to part of said face in said front side of said housing; means defining a plurality of other openings corresponding to other parts of said face in the front side of said housing; a shaft mounted in said housing and extending perpendicularly with respect to said front wall of said housing at a location such that its axis intersects said face at a point located within the outline formed by said openings; a disc disposed behind said front side of said housing and having an enlarged aperture therein of greater diameter than said shaft disposed in surrounding relationship with respect to said shaft, said disc including portions adapted to be located behind said openings in said front side of said housing and having indicia of said face located thereon; spring means connected to said disc tending to rotate said disc about the axis of said shaft; a plurality of projections on the periphery of said disc; a stationary abutment in said housing located in the path of movement of said pro-V jections adjacent said first opening and terminating a short distance behind said path lso that a projection may be freed from contact with said abutment by rearward movement of such projection in response to the impact of Va projectile passing through said first opening; and a cam Y surface spaced from said abutment at a location directly behind said abutment and being inclined rearwardly in the direction of rotation of said disc under the influence 5 of said spring so that rotation of said disc is initiated when one of said projections is brought into contact with said cam surface in response o the impact of a projectile, whereby the expression on said face will be changed each time a projectile is passed through said rst opening. 5

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 986,683 Bugbee Mar. 14, 1911 10 Hart Ian. 16, 1917 Hose Feb. 22, 1927 Mernmel Nov. 1, 1949 Peters Nov. l1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS FranceI Ian. 19, 1931 

